The present invention relates to filled polymeric wall facing units provided with at least one mortar tie-in member embedded in and protruding from the backing surface of these units, wall units of this type which are panels, wall units of this type which are corner units, and wall systems comprising these corner units.
Filled polymeric materials have been known to provide decorative and protective surfaces to walls. For instance, it has been known to coat masonry units filled with polyesters and form walls therefrom.
The basic patent on the use of polyester as coatings for masonry units is Sergovic U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,775.
In Sergovic, U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,231, a coated masonry building block was made of a cured composition of an unsaturated polyester resin and sand in which the sand comprises at least 50% by weight of the coating composition. The unsaturated polyester resin is derived from a reaction between a dicarboxylic acid, e.g., phthalic, maleic, furmaric, adipic, pimelic, suberic, itaconic, citraconic, succinic acids, hydrides and polyhydric alcohol, e.g., ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol and propylene glycol. There is also present an unsaturated monomer such as methyl methacrylate, styrene, diallyl phthalate, t-butyl styrene, alphamethyl styrene. In Sergovic, U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,289, coated masonry building blocks and articles and compositions therefor were provided which employed various pigments in combination with various resinous compositions to provide stain resistance to discoloration (blushing) when subjected to high moisture conditions for long periods. The entire disclosures of Sergovic U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,031,289; 3,328,231 and 2,751,775, are hereby incorporated by reference and relied upon.
Forming walls with coated masonry presents a particular problem with respect to the formation of the outside corners of the wall structures. For instance, coated cinder or concrete blocks must be coated on two sides in order for the coating material to show on two sides, thereby keeping uncoated block areas unexposed.
As an alternative to coating entire masonry units, it has been proposed to form integral molded facing layers on sections of masonry units which may, in turn, be incorporated into a base wall structure by means of a mortar binder. More particularly, it has been proposed to coat approximately 1 1/32 inch thick sections of cinder block or concrete material with about 1/8 inch of filled polyester in a manner analogous to that described above for coating entire masonry units. These coated sections of approximately 1 3/32 inch in depth and the same width and length of coated masonry blocks may be mortared onto a base wall structure, e.g., wall board, concrete block, or steel wall panels.
It is not possible to affix a polyester surface directly to a wall structure by means of mortar, because the polyester surface will not adhere sufficiently to a wall structure using mortar. Accordingly, there is a need to provide filled polymeric wall facing units, particularly corner units, capable of being incorporated into wall structures by means of mortar.